Cable's Leaders in Learning: In Their Own Words

Lynda Bergsma was recognized for her 17-year body of work, in which she uses media literacy education as a health promotion strategy for children, youth and families. Through Bergsma’s projects, teaching, research, writing, speaking and leadership, thousands of people across the United States and worldwide have learned to make healthy decisions in a media-saturated culture.

In this podcast (MP3, 13 MB), Bergsma discusses the importance of implementing media literacy education into curriculum. She notes that students today are bombarded with various types of media and they must be taught how to properly analyze and understand what they are consuming.

Labels: Bergsma, cable, LIL, media literacy

Elana Rosen was recognized for her work with the Just Think Foundation. The foundation provides students with the skills they need to become critical thinkers and creative producers on important issues they see in the media, such as First Amendment rights, body image and nutrition, global warming and immigration. The program engages young people in discussions about the types of media they are consuming and encourages them to analyze and evaluate that media for accuracy, completeness and appropriateness, and use media as a form of expression, demonstration of learning, and for self-empowerment.

In this podcast (MP3,15 MB), Rosen talks about the growth of the Just Think Foundation and the new national and international media literacy outreach the organization has planned.

Labels: Just Think, LIL, media literacy, Rosen

David Considine was recognized for his ability to model a management approach that enabled him to introduce media literacy to an educational institution and sustain that innovation for more than a decade, creating multiple media literacy entry points for students, supported by numerous faculty at both the graduate and undergraduate level.

During his podcast (MP3, 24MB), Considine discusses the definition of media literacy, and separates it from simply using media. Media literacy, he says, isn’t just “teaching with media,” it’s “teaching about the media,” and helping students build the skills needed to critically analyze and deconstruct the abundance of media present in our nation.

Labels: cable, Considine, LIL, media literacy